Rolling Hills Estates gives a thumbs up to a dog park on landfill site

In a 4-1 vote Tuesday night, Rolling Hills Estates council members approved the idea of setting aside two to three acres of the 175-acre former Palos Verdes Landfill to establish a fenced-in dog park.

 

More than a dozen supporters turned out at the meeting to urge support for the concept  spearheaded by Bruce and Maureen Megowan who have been working for two years to get a dog park somewhere on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

(Read more on Maureen's blog.)

But this is not a "done deal."

The proposal now has to go before officials in Los Angeles County for review, possible studies, and then a final determination. And there also is fund-raising ahead -- Bruce says the park could cost between $70,000 and $100,000 when you factor in fencing, water, signage, ground cover and other expenses.

This all means that a dog park -- should it receive final approvals -- could be still 18 months to two years away from reality.

Bruce, however, is confident that funds can be found in grants and donations. He also suggested a park membership format be considered in which park users would be required to register and pay an annual fee -- $20? $50? -- to visit the dog park.

The advantage of that, Bruce said, is that the city could ensure that dogs coming into the facility all have licenses in their respective cities and are up-to-date on vaccinations. What do you think? Would you pay an annual fee to visit a dog park? 

Clearly the work's not over. Contact the Megowans if you'd like to help. Email them at either bmegowan@cox.net or mmegowan@cox.net.

Their full proposal is the result of much research by Bruce, who told me he studied dog parks throughout the nation and probably is something of an expert by now on issues such as design and materials.

I must say, I was impressed and a bit surprised by the enthusiastic support of the city council.

But then I'm used to Los Angeles and San Pedro -- where a more than decade-long effort to establish a permanent dog park continues to be stuck in quicksand, perennially on a back burner due to bureaucracy and, frankly, what appears to be simply a lack of political will on the issue.

(Yes, there is a temporary dog park in San Pedro, but at just 3/4 of 1 acre it's too small for safety when it's crowded and is vulnerable to being closed whenever the Port of L.A., which owns the space near the freeway and bridge onramps, needs the land.)

Read our earlier posts on the PV dog park.